This letter was sent to Rep. Michael Grimm on Jan. 17 in response to his statements cited in the Advance article "Demonstrators raise halth care qestions." [He called the protest "nothing more than political grandstanding."]

Dear Congressman Grimm, I am a 60-year-old professional, a mother of two adult children, and a responsible and engaged member of the community. I stood outside your Staten Island office today in the freezing cold to demonstrate my opinion that you should not vote to repeal the health care law.

I am not a fringe activist. I was not looking to polarize anything. I was not grandstanding. I have voted in every election since I turned 18 and today I was expressing my civil right to free speech on an issue that I care deeply about.

Your statements to the Advance mischaracterizing me and my intentions were either not well-thought out or just plain nasty. You don’t know me. Do you think that my opinions have no validity just because we disagree? You owe me an apology.